Traverse City hiring event Nov. 6: Northwest Michigan Works brings employers to Garfield Avenue as the region’s tourist season jobs wind down

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Job seekers in the Grand Traverse region will get a chance to talk face to face with employers that are hiring now when Northwest Michigan Works! holds its second annual Fall into a New Job! Hiring Event on Friday, Nov. 6.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Networks Northwest Conference Center, 1209 S. Garfield Ave. It is free and open to the public, and employers will be hiring for full-time, part-time, seasonal and permanent positions, according to the agency’s announcement.

Participating employers include Great Lakes Potato Chip Co., Gardner White Furniture & Mattress, Wayne Wire, Cintas and MAG Insulation, Northwest Michigan Works! said, with more expected. Jimmy John’s is the lunch sponsor.

“Hiring conversations go better in person, and we’re glad to give the community another opportunity to have them,” said Lisa Morgan-Cole, a business services representative at Northwest Michigan Works!. “Employers can put a face to their openings, and job seekers can ask questions, share their experience, and often learn about roles they didn’t know existed.”

The event debuted last year and returns with a new date and a longer window to meet employers. One HR director who took part last year said in the announcement that she met five potential candidates and made a hire later that week.

Why the timing matters. State numbers released Thursday show how sharply work in the region thins out after the summer and fall color seasons. In September, total employment in the Northwest Lower Michigan region fell 3.9% from August, the steepest monthly drop of Michigan’s 18 labor market areas, and the region’s labor force shrank 4.2%, also the largest decline, according to the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. Those figures are not seasonally adjusted, so they partly reflect the usual end of summer jobs, but they point to a pool of workers who may be looking for something steadier heading into winter.

How to get ready.

Register ahead. Advance registration is open at nwm.org/falljobfairtc2026, though walk-ins are welcome at a free public event.

Bring paper. Organizers encourage attendees to bring copies of their résumés to hand to employers.

Plan your time. The event lasts four hours, and arriving early leaves more time to talk with each employer.

Can’t make it? Northwest Michigan Works! lists smaller Career Connection sessions in Traverse City, Petoskey, Manistee and Cadillac on its workshops and events page.

Sources:
Northwest Michigan Works! announcement via Traverse Connect, “Northwest Michigan Works! Brings Back Fall into a New Job! Hiring Event for a Second Year,” Oct. 22, 2026 (date, time, place, employers, quotes, registration), https://business.traverseconnect.com/news/details/northwest-michigan-works-brings-back-fall-into-a-new-job-hiring-event-for-a-second-year-10-22-2026
9&10 News, “Northwest Michigan Works! will host its 2nd annual fall hiring event Nov. 6,” Oct. 22, 2026, https://www.9and10news.com/2026/10/22/northwest-michigan-works-will-host-its-2nd-annual-fall-hiring-event-nov-6/
Northwest Michigan Works!, workshops and events page (Career Connection sessions), https://www.nwmiworks.org/job-seeker/workshops-events.html
Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, “Michigan regional jobless rates fall during September,” Oct. 22, 2026 (Northwest Lower Michigan employment -3.9%, labor force -4.2%), https://www.michigan.gov/mcda/labor-market-information/employment-situation-press-releases/2026/10/22/michigan-regional-jobless-rates-fall-during-september
Photo: w_lemay, “City Opera House, Traverse City, MI.jpg,” July 4, 2017, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/), cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:City_Opera_House,_Traverse_City,_MI.jpg

Traverse City

Tags: Traverse City · Jobs · Hiring Event · Northwest Michigan Works · Business · Economy